Circuit module and method of producing circuit module

ABSTRACT

A circuit module includes a circuit substrate, at least one mount component, sealing bodies, and a shield. The circuit substrate includes a mount surface. The mount component is mounted on the mount surface. The sealing body is formed on the mount surface, covers the mount component and has a first sealing body section having a first thickness and a second sealing body section having a second thickness larger than the first thickness. The shield covers the sealing body and has a first shield section formed on the first sealing body section and having a third thickness and a second shield section formed on the second sealing body section and having a fourth thickness smaller than the third thickness. The sum of the fourth thickness and the second thickness equals to the sum of the first thickness and the third thickness.

CROSS-REFERENCE TO A RELATED APPLICATION

This application claims priority under 35 U.S.C. §119 to Japanese Patent Application No. JP 2013-165378 filed on Aug. 8, 2013, the entire content of which is hereby incorporated herein by reference in its entirety

FIELD

The present disclosure relates to a circuit module including a circuit substrate on which at least one mount component is mounted and sealed.

BACKGROUND

A widely-used circuit module includes a circuit substrate on which at least one mount component is mounted and a peripheral of the mount component is sealed by a sealing body made of a synthetic resin etc. In such a circuit module, a surface of the sealing body is coated with a conductive material to be used as a shield against interruption induced by electromagnetic waves (hereinafter referred to as electromagnetic interruption). The electromagnetic interruption is interference, unnecessary radiation or the like, for example. By providing the shield, the electromagnetic interruption caused by the electromagnetic waves emitted from the mount component in the shield against electronic devices etc. outside of the shield is prevented (emission is improved), or the electromagnetic interruption caused by the electromagnetic waves emitted outside from the shield against the mount component in the shield is prevented (immunity is improved).

For example, Japanese Patent Application Laid-open No. 2006-286915 discloses a circuit module where electronic components mounted on a circuit substrate are sealed by an insulating resin layer, and a surface of the insulating resin layer is covered by a conductive resin layer. The conductive resin layer offers a noise shielding effectiveness.

SUMMARY

The thicker the above-described shield is, the higher the shielding effectiveness is. However, if the shield is thicker, a size (in particular, a thickness) of the circuit module undesirably grows. In recent years, as electronic devices gets down sized, the circuit module is also necessary to be downsized (low-profile). In addition, if the shield gets thick, a large amount of the shielding material is necessary, which may results in undesirably increased manufacturing costs of the circuit module.

In view of the above-described circumstances, it is desirable to provide a circuit module having a high shielding effectiveness and a low profile, and a method of producing the same.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, there is provided a circuit module including a circuit substrate, at least one mount component, a sealing body, and a shield.

The circuit substrate includes a mount surface.

The mount component is mounted on the mount surface.

The sealing body is formed on the mount surface, covers the mount component and has a first sealing body section having a first thickness and a second sealing body section having a second thickness larger than the first thickness.

The shield covers the sealing body and has a first shield section formed on the first sealing body section and having a third thickness and a second shield section formed on the second sealing body section and having a fourth thickness smaller than the third thickness. The sum of the fourth thickness and the second thickness equals to the sum of the first thickness and the third thickness.

According to an embodiment of the present disclosure, there is provided a method of producing a circuit module including mounting a mount component on a mount surface of a circuit substrate.

A sealing body for covering the mount component on the mount surface is formed to have a first sealing body section having a first thickness and a second sealing body section having a second thickness larger than the first thickness.

A shield is formed by coating a shielding material to form a plane parallel to the mount surface.

These and other objects, features and advantages of the present disclosure will become more apparent in light of the following detailed description of best mode embodiments thereof, as illustrated in the accompanying drawings.

BRIEF DESCRIPTION OF THE DRAWINGS

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a circuit module according to an embodiment of the present disclosure;

FIG. 2 is a plan view of the circuit module;

FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the circuit module (along the A-A line in FIG. 2);

FIG. 4 is a schematic view showing an arrangement of mount components of the circuit module;

FIG. 5 is a plan view of a sealing body of the circuit module;

FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the sealing body of the circuit module (along the B-B line in FIG. 5);

FIG. 7 is a schematic view showing a thickness of the sealing body of the circuit module;

FIG. 8 is a schematic view showing the thickness of the sealing body of the circuit module;

FIG. 9 is a sectional view of the circuit module (along the B-B line in FIG. 2);

FIG. 10 is a schematic view showing the thickness of the shield of the circuit module;

FIGS. 11A to 11C each shows a schematic view showing a method of producing the circuit module;

FIGS. 12A to 12C each shows a schematic view showing a method of producing the circuit module;

FIG. 13 is a sectional view of a circuit module according to a first alternative embodiment; and

FIG. 14 is a schematic view showing thicknesses of a sealing body and a shield of a circuit module according to a second alternative embodiment.

DETAILED DESCRIPTION OF EMBODIMENTS

A circuit module according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes a circuit substrate, a mount component, a sealing body, and a shield.

The circuit substrate includes a mount surface.

The mount component is mounted on the mount surface.

The sealing body is formed on the mount surface, covers the mount component and has a first sealing body section having a first thickness and a second sealing body section having a second thickness larger than the first thickness.

The shield covers the sealing body and has a first shield section formed on the first sealing body section and having a third thickness and a second shield section formed on the second sealing body section and having a fourth thickness smaller than the third thickness. The sum of the fourth thickness and the second thickness equals to the sum of the first thickness and the third thickness.

By this configuration, the thick first shield section can provide a high shielding effectiveness to the mount component to be shielded among the mount components. When a whole shield is thick, the circuit module becomes thick and it is difficult to provide a low-profile circuit module. In sharp contrast, by the above-described configuration, as the thick first shield section is formed on the thin first sealing body section, it is possible to effectively shield the mount component to be shielded, while the thickness of the circuit module is kept. In other words, the circuit module having a high shielding effectiveness and a low profile can be provided.

The mount component includes an RF (Radio Frequency) component configuring an RF circuit, and the first sealing body section may cover the RF component.

The RF circuit used in communication devices etc. is easily affected by the electromagnetic interruption outside of the circuit module, and easily invites the electromagnetic interruption to outside of the circuit module. Thus, the RF circuit should be protected by a shield. By the above-described configuration, the first sealing body section covers the RF component of the RF circuit. In other words, the thick first shield section is disposed on the RF component and it is thus possible to provide the RF circuit with high shielding effectiveness.

The second sealing body section covers the mount component having the highest mount height from the mount surface among the mount components, and the second thickness is larger than the highest mount height of the mount component. The first sealing body section does not cover the mount component having the highest mount height, and the first thickness is smaller than the highest mount height of the mount component.

As the second sealing body section should cover the mount component having the highest mount height (hereinafter referred to as “the highest mount component”), it is difficult to decrease the thickness of the second sealing body section thinner than the mount height of the highest mount component. However, the first sealing body section can be thinner than the mount height of the highest mount component. In other words, even if the thickness of the circuit module is determined by the mount height of the highest mount component, the first shield section can be thicker (the third thickness) irrespective of the mount height of the highest mount component.

The third thickness may be from 75 μm to 200 μm. The fourth thickness may be from 1 μm to 75 μm.

By this configuration, the shield can provide the high shielding effectiveness by the first shield section having a thickness of 75 μm to 200 μm, and prevent the thickness of the circuit module from increasing by the second shield section having a thickness of 1 μm to 75 μm.

A method of producing a circuit module according to an embodiment of the present disclosure includes mounting at least one component on a mount surface of a circuit substrate.

A sealing body for covering the mount component is formed on the mount surface, the sealing body including a first sealing body section having a first thickness and a second sealing body section having a second thickness larger than the first thickness.

A shield is formed by coating a shielding material on the sealing body to form a plane parallel to the mount surface.

By this configuration, it is possible to equalize the sum of the thickness of the first sealing body (the first thickness) and the thickness of the first shield section (the third thickness) to the sum of the thickness of the second sealing body section (the second thickness) and the thickness of the second shield section (the fourth thickness). Thus, the circuit module can be produced where the first shield section is formed on the first sealing body section and the second shield section is formed on the second sealing body section.

[Configuration of Circuit Module]

FIG. 1 is a perspective view of a circuit module 100 according to an embodiment of the present disclosure. FIG. 2 is a plan view of the circuit module 100. FIG. 3 is a sectional view of the circuit module 100 along the A-A line in FIG. 2. In each view, an X direction, a Y direction and a Z direction are orthogonal to each other.

As shown in FIGS. 1 to 3, the circuit module 100 includes a circuit substrate 101, mount components 102, a sealing body 103, and a shield 104. Although a size or a shape of the circuit module 100 is not especially limited, the circuit module 100 may be a rectangular parallelepiped having a size of tens mm squares and a thickness of several mms.

The mount components 102 etc. are mounted on the circuit substrate 101. The circuit substrate 101 can be a multi-layer substrate on which a plurality of layers made of an insulating material such as a glass epoxy-based material and an insulating ceramic material are laminated. Within the layers, interlayer wirings (not shown) may be formed. Hereinafter, a surface of the circuit substrate 101 on a side where the mount components 102 are mounted is defined as a mount surface 101 a.

The mount components 102 are mounted on the mount surface 101 a. FIG. 4 is a plan view showing an arrangement of the mount components 102 and does not show the shield 104 and the sealing body 103. An example of the mount components 102 is an integrated circuit (IC), a capacitor, an inductor, a resistor, a crystal oscillator, a duplexer, a filter, a power amplifier, or the like. The mount components 102 can be mounted on the mount surface 101 a by solder joint using solder H (see FIG. 3).

Some of the mount components 102 can be components constituting the RF (Radio Frequency) circuit. Hereinafter, the mount components 102 constituting the RF circuit are referred to as RF components 102 a. An example of the RF components 102 a is an RFIC (Radio Frequency Integrated Circuit), a DC-DC converter, a power amplifier, a processor or the like.

As shown in FIG. 4, the RF components 102 a can be mounted on a certain area on the circuit substrate 101. Hereinafter, the area where the RF components 102 a are mounted is referred to as an RF area 102R. A plurality of the RF areas 102R may be disposed on the circuit substrate 101.

The sealing body 103 is made of a sealing material, and covers the mount components 102 on the mount surface 101 a. For example, the sealing material is an insulating resin such as an epoxy resin to which silica or alumina is added. After the mount components 102 are mounted on the mount surface 101 a, peripherals of the mount components 102 are filled with a fluid sealing material and the sealing material is cured to provide the sealing body 103. The thickness of the sealing body 103 will be described later.

The shield 104 is made of a shielding material that is a conductive material, and functions as a shield against the electromagnetic interruption. For example, the shielding material can be a conductive resin such as an epoxy resin containing conductive particles such as Ag and Cu. The thickness of the shield 104 will be described later.

The circuit module 100 has an above-described overall configuration. The shield 104 is disposed around the sealing body 103 covering the mount components 102, as described above. Thus, the shield 104 prevents the electromagnetic interruption against the mount components 102 and the electromagnetic interruption from the mount components 102 to outside of the circuit module 100.

[Thicknesses of Sealing Body and Shield]

The thickness of the sealing body 103 will be described. FIG. 5 is a plan view of the sealing body 103 showing no shield 104 shown in FIG. 2. FIG. 6 is a sectional view of the sealing body 103 etc. along the B-B line in FIG. 5.

As shown in FIGS. 5 and 6, the sealing body 103 includes a first sealing body section 103 a and a second sealing body section 103 b. The first sealing body section 103 a has a thickness different from that of the second sealing body section 103 b.

FIG. 7 is a schematic view showing thicknesses of the first sealing body section 103 a and the second sealing body section 103 b. As shown in FIG. 7, the thickness of the sealing body 103 ranges from the mount component 101 a to the surface of the sealing body 103. The first sealing body section 103 a has a thickness D1 and the second sealing body section 103 b has a thickness D2 larger than the thickness D1.

Here, as shown in FIG. 5, the first sealing body section 103 a can cover at least the RF area 102R. In addition, the first sealing body section 103 a may cover other areas in addition to the RF area 102R.

FIG. 8 is a schematic view showing a relationship between the thicknesses of the sealing body 103 and the heights of the mount components 102. As shown in FIG. 8, a mount component having the highest mount height (height from the mount surface 101 a) among the mount components 102 is denoted as the highest mount component 102 b, and the mount height of the highest mount component 102 b is denoted as a height H. The first sealing body section 103 a does not cover the highest mount component 102 b, but the second sealing body section 103 b can cover the highest mount component 102 b.

As shown in FIG. 8, the thickness D2 of the second sealing body section 103 b should be larger than at least the height H so that the highest mount component 102 b is not exposed. On the other hand, the thickness D1 of the first sealing body section 103 a can be smaller than the height H as the first sealing body section 103 a does not cover the highest mount component 102 b.

In general, a processor or a memory can be the highest mount component 102 b. In most cases, the RF components of the RF circuit have the mount heights smaller than that of the processor or the memory. In other words, when the first sealing body section 103 a covers the RF area 102R, the first sealing body section 103 a does not cover the highest mount component 102 b.

Between the first sealing body section 103 a and the second sealing body section 103 b, there can be disposed a region where the thickness of the sealing body 103 is gradually changed (a sloped region), as shown in FIG. 6 etc. Also, the first sealing body section 103 a may abut on the second sealing body section 103 b, i.e., the first sealing body section 103 a and the second sealing body section 103 b may form a step.

The thickness of the shield 104 will be described. FIG. 9 is a sectional view of the circuit module 100 along the B-B line in FIG. 2. As shown in FIG. 9, the shield 104 includes a first shield section 104 a and a second shield section 104 b. The first shield section 104 a has a thickness different from that of the second shield section 104 b. As shown in FIGS. 7 and 9, the first shield section 104 a is formed on the first sealing body section 103 a, and the second shield section 104 b is formed on the second sealing body 103 b.

FIG. 10 is a schematic view showing the thicknesses of the first shield section 104 a and the second shield section 104 b. As shown in FIG. 10, the thickness of the shield 104 ranges from the surface of the sealing body 103 to the surface of the shield 104. The thickness of the first shield section 104 a is denoted as a thickness D3, and the thickness of the second shield section 104 b is denoted as a thickness D4. The thickness D3 is larger than the thickness D4. The thicknesses D3 and D4 are such that the sum of the thickness D1 and the thickness D3 equals to the sum of the thickness D2 and the thickness D4. In this way, the surface of the shield 104 is a plane parallel to the mount surface 101 a.

Specifically, the thickness D3 can be from 75 nm to 200 nm. The thickness D4 can be from 1 nm to 75 nm. Between the first shield section 104 a and the second shield section 104 b, there can be disposed a region where the thickness of the shield 104 is gradually changed, as shown in FIG. 9 etc. Also, the first shield section 104 a may abut on the second shield section 104 b.

The first shield section 104 a is formed on the first sealing body section 103 a. As described above, when the first sealing body section 103 a is formed to cover the RF areas 102R, the first shield section 104 a is formed on the RF areas 102R.

[Advantages]

In the circuit module 100, the shield 104 functions as the shield against the electromagnetic interruption. Specifically, the shield 104 prevents exogenous noises, interference, immunity (electromagnetic compatibility) interruption or the like applied from outside of the mount components 102. Also, the shield 104 prevents unnecessary radiation or the like from the mount components 102 to outside of the circuit module 100.

Here, the shield 104 according to the present embodiment has the thick first shield section 104 a. Thus, it is possible to provide the shielding effectiveness as described above at the first shield section 104 a.

On the other hand, if all areas of the shield 104 are thick, the circuit module 100 also becomes large. This is not desirable for downsizing (providing the low-profile) of the circuit module 100. In contrast, the circuit module 100 according to the present embodiment can provide the high shielding effectiveness only at the necessary region while the thickness is maintained.

Especially when the second sealing body section 103 b has to be thick in order to cover the highest mount component 102 b, the first sealing body section 103 a not covering the highest mount component 102 b can be thin. In this way, the first shield section 104 a can be thick without thicken the circuit module 100. Thus, the shielding effectiveness by the first shield section 104 a can be sufficiently increased.

The RF circuit being capable of mounting to the circuit module 100 often needs shielding. For example, when the RF circuit is used for a transmitting circuit of a mobile phone, the leakage power of the RF circuit may interfere with other circuit components (a GPS, a sensor and the like). In addition, high-frequency waves of vibration signals in the RFIC of the RF circuit may radiate. As a result, the device on which the circuit module 100 is mounted may be failed. Furthermore, a switching noise of a DCDC converter in the device on which the circuit module is mounted, a switching noise (a digital noise) of a processor or a transmitting wave from other communication device may become an interruption wave to the RF circuit.

Thus, as described above, the first shield section 104 a is formed on the RF circuit 102R configuring the RF circuit, the RF circuit can be mainly shielded while the thickness of the circuit module 100 is maintained.

Furthermore, the shield 104 is composed of the shielding material containing conductive particles, and has a thermal conductivity higher than the sealing material of the sealing body 103. As the first shielding section 104 a is closer to the mount surface 101 a than the second shielding section 104 b, it is possible to generate a high heat releasing effect to the mount components 102 positioned under the first shielding section 104 a. For example, the RF circuit is generally composed of high heat generating components such as the RFIC, a power amplifier or the like. The configuration according to the present embodiment is effective in terms of a heat releasing property.

In addition, by thickening only some of the shield 104 (the first shielding section 104 a), the amount of the shielding material can be decreased, thereby reducing the manufacturing costs of the circuit module 100 as compared to the case where the whole shield is thickened.

[Method of Producing Circuit Module]

A method of producing the circuit module 100 will be described. FIGS. 11A to 11C and FIGS. 12A to 12C each is a schematic view showing a method of producing the circuit module 100. A plurality of circuit modules 100 can be produced on one circuit substrate at the same time, and be divided into each circuit module 100.

As shown in FIG. 11A, the circuit substrate 101 on which the mount components 102 are mounted is coated with a sealing material F. The sealing material F can be coated by a variety of coating methods including a spin coating method, a screen printing method and a vacuum printing method.

Next, as shown in FIG. 11B, the sealing material F coated is covered with a mask M having apertures. In this way, as shown in FIG. 11C, the sealing material F has two thicknesses. Then, the sealing material F is cured. For example, the sealing material F is baked to be cured.

Next, as shown in FIG. 12A, the sealing material F cured is half-cut per the circuit module 100. For example, half-cut is done by dicing. In this way, the sealing bodies 103 are formed.

Next, as shown in FIG. 12B, a shielding material S is coated over the sealing bodies 103. The shielding material S can be coated by a printing. Here, the shielding material S is coated at a uniform thickness on the mount surface 101 a not depending on the thicknesses of the sealing bodies 103. Then, the shielding material S is cured. For example, the shielding material S is baked to be cured.

Next, as shown in FIG. 12C, the shielding material S and the circuit substrate 101 are cut (full-cut) per circuit module 100 to form shields 104. For example, cutting can be conducted by dicing. In this way, the circuit module 100 shown in FIG. 9 is produced. The method of producing the circuit module 100 is not limited to those described here.

ALTERNATIVE EMBODIMENTS First Alternative Embodiment

FIG. 13 is a sectional view of a circuit module 100 according to a first alternative embodiment. As shown in FIG. 13, the circuit module 100 may have an inner shield 105. The inner shield 105 is disposed to separate the mount components 102, and is to prevent the electromagnetic interruption between the mount components 102. For example, the inner shield 105 can be disposed to surround the peripheral of the above-described RF area 102R.

The inner shield 105 is composed of a conductive material, and is electrically connected to the shield 104. A trench is formed by irradiating the sealing body 103 with laser and a sealing material is coated thereon, whereby the inner shield 105 can be formed together with the shield 104. Alternatively, the inner shield 105 may be formed by burying a metal plate etc. into the sealing body 103.

The inner shield 105 is disposed to surround an area to be shielded (such as the RF area 102R), and the thick first shielding section 104 a is formed on the area. Thus, the higher shielding effectiveness can be provided on the area.

Second Alternative Embodiment

FIG. 14 is a schematic view showing thicknesses of a sealing body 103 and a shield 104 of a circuit module 100 according to a second alternative embodiment. As shown in FIG. 14, the sealing body 103 can have a third sealing body section 103 c in addition to the first sealing body section 103 a and the second sealing body section 103 b. The third sealing body section 103 c can be thicker (a thickness D5 in FIG. 14) than the second sealing body section 103 b.

The shield 104 can have a third shield section 104 c in addition to the first shield section 104 a and the second shield section 104 b. The third shield section 104 c is formed on the third sealing body section 103 c, and has a thickness (D6 in FIG. 14). The sum of the thickness D6 and the thickness D5 equals to the sum of the thickness D1 and the thickness D3 (the sum of the thickness D2 and the thickness D4).

Also in this case, the high shielding effectiveness can be provided only at the necessary region while the thickness of the circuit module 100 is maintained. In the second alternative embodiment, the sealing body 103 and the shield 104 have three thicknesses. A number of thicknesses can be available.

While the embodiments of the present disclosure are described, it should be appreciated that the disclosure is not limited to the above-described embodiments, and variations and modifications may be made without departing from the spirit and scope of the present disclosure. 

What is claimed is:
 1. A circuit module, comprising: a circuit substrate having a mount surface; mount components mounted on the mount surface including an RF (Radio Frequency) component configuring an RF circuit; a sealing body formed on the mount surface covering the mount components and having a first sealing body section having a first thickness and a second sealing body section having a second thickness larger than the first thickness, the first sealing body section covering the RF component and not covering the mount component having a highest mount height from the mount surface among the mount components, the first thickness being smaller than the highest mount height of the mount component, the second sealing body section covering the mount component having the highest mount height from the mount surface among the mount components, and the second thickness being larger than the highest mount height of the mount component; and a shield covering the sealing body and having a first shield section formed on the first sealing body section and having a third thickness and a second shield section formed on the second sealing body section and having a fourth thickness smaller than the third thickness; the sum of the fourth thickness and the second thickness being equal to the sum of the first thickness and the third thickness.
 2. The circuit module according to claim 1, wherein the third thickness is from 75 μm to 200 μm, and the fourth thickness is from 1 μm to 75 μm.
 3. The circuit module according to claim 1, further comprising an inner shield formed from the shield to the mount surface surrounding the RF component. 